Lady Panthers defeat Dover 18-6; improve to 9-2 as season nears its end

Tuesday

May 6, 2014 at 12:44 AM

Mike Santa Barbara

After suffering a rare loss, the Polytech Panthers’ girl’s lacrosse team bounced back Thursday defeating division foe Dover 18-6 improving to 9-2 on the season.

A season after losing just one regular season game, the Lady Panthers suffered their second loss of the season early last week; a 17-7 loss to defending champion Cape Henlopen. Like any good team, Polytech responded with a big conference victory on Thursday.

The Lady Panthers took advantage from the opening whistle Thursday, using a 10-goal first half to take an early eight-goal lead over Dover at the break. Polytech’s offense didn’t let up in the second half, outscoring the Lady Senators 8-4 rolling to the 18-6 victory.

Polytech dominated possession from the jump, making crisp passes and penetrating the Dover defense at will especially in the opening minutes. The Lady Panthers peppered the Dover net, tossing 39 total shots, finding the twine 18 times led by sophomore Jamie Tradaudo who scored seven goals for Polytech in the victory.

Alison McKay tallied four times for the Lady Panthers, Kathryn Richardson contributed three, Rachel Slater finished with two goals, while Jessica Rutkoski and Caroline Hermance added a goal apiece.

Along with an overwhelming offensive attack, Polytech gave the Lady Senators’ offense little room to maneuver. The Lady Panthers contended nearly every Dover attempt to clear their defensive zone, blocking outlet passes and halting the Lady Senators offense before it could get to mid-field.

By applying defensive pressure, Polytech was able to force turnovers leading to a constant rush of offense that Dover simply could not contend with.

Polytech came into the year knowing they had a tougher schedule ahead of them. And so far, with the season approaching its end, the Lady Panthers have slipped up just twice.

“Our schedule strengthened this season, and we were confident we could still compete for a spot in the tournament,” said Polytech head coach Lynn Richardson. “And we lost a few key players from last season, but we had a lot of girls ready to step forward and we’ve gotten contributions from all of them.”

For Dover, the loss sends them back to .500 at 6-6, a game after surpassing the mark with a win over Red Lion CA on Tuesday. The Lady Senators are back in action Thursday when they travel to Brandywine at 3:30 p.m.

The Lady Panthers, now 9-2, took on Caesar Rodney Tuesday after press time. Polytech is back in action Friday hosting Caravel Academy at 4:30 p.m.